


Desert Tracks

by BadWigBrando



Series: Kankuro Month 2018 [1]
Category: Naruto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-01 22:27:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14530590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadWigBrando/pseuds/BadWigBrando
Summary: It's Kankuro month! Let's start it off right, yea? Inspired by doodlingleluke on tumblr, here's a fic about Kankuro's special interest! Enjoy!





	Desert Tracks

Sand flew through the air like glitter reflecting off the early morning sun. As the wind picked up and ruffled hair on sleepy heads, Kankuro yawned into the sleeve of his jacket. It’s far too early for a day off. The sand was still ice cold beneath his feet, cowering from the impending heat that would grace Suna in a few hours.

Even the desert was still sleeping. 

Kankuro flicked leftover crust from his eyes and exhaled sharply, leaning back against the tall wall that surrounded Suna. He stared at his toes and shook away the sand that piled into his sandals. 

“It’s about time.” Kankuro looked up, greeting his siblings with another yawn. “I’ve been waiting for like, 30 minutes.”

“We’re sorry,” Gaara responded. He bowed his head slightly to his brother to show his sincerity. “To be honest, we did not expect for you to be on time.”

“Yea, since when do you rise before the sun?” Temari chimed in, her hands settling on her hips as she regarded her sleepy younger brother. She walked to him and ruffled his hair. It was a mess of brown strains shooting out every which way. “Didn’t even brush your hair...did you even brush your teeth?” 

“I didn’t even sleep. You don’t have to brush your teeth if you don’t sleep. Ask Gaara.” 

“That’s disgusting...Gaara, you brush your teeth every morning, right?” Temari asked, hoping for a better perspective on hygiene from the youngest of the trio.

Gaara froze for just a moment, being the deciding factor in his siblings' arguments was never fun. “Yes.”

“Really? Why?” Kankuro shook his head. “You only brush your teeth to get rid of morning breath! You don’t get morning breath if you don’t sleep.” 

Temari placed her head in her hands, shaking it back and forth. With a huff, she walked passed her brother, leading them to the gate. “Remind me to set Kankuro up for a dentist appointment since he doesn’t know how to brush his teeth.” 

“It’s a thing!” Kankuro shouted, following his sister, Gaara trailing behind him. “It’s a thing, Gaara.”

“Moving on..” Gaara stopped near Temari who was already waiting for them at the Suna entrance. “You’ve been gone for a while, Kankuro. A few changes have happened in Suna.” 

“Yea, you sent me on a three-month recon mission. It was fucking brutal.” Kankuro said, rubbing the back of his head. 

“I bet your teeth suffered the most, huh?” Temari said with a smirk that she didn’t care to hide gracing her lips. 

“Jokes on you, I didn’t have space for a toothbrush anyway.” Kankuro leaned over Gaara to reach Temari, exhaling a deep breath into her face. Before she could run away, Kankuro grabbed her arms and held her securely against the gate, forcing his hot morning breath into her eyes.

“Ugh, gross. GROSS! Get off me!” She wiggled free, blinking her eyes a few times to check for damage. “I swear to god if I wake up blind one day, I’m kicking your ass.” 

“Don’t lie, my breath smells like mint! I ate gum for dinner last night.” His arms folded across his chest as he stepped away from his sister, giving her some space to breathe in fresher air. 

“You’re a fucking disaster.” Temari continued wiping her eyes, a teardrop rolling down her cheek. 

“It’s my tagline. Gaara, wanna smell? I need a second opinion.” 

Gaara didn’t step away from his brother. Instead, a wall of sand rose between them, keeping his brother a good few feet away from him. “I’d rather not. Temari’s reaction is all the information I need.” 

Kankuro pouted. “You shouldn’t take other people’s opinions at face value, Gaara. That’s bad leadership.” 

“Doing something considerably dangerous is bad leadership. Are you alright, Temari?” Gaara lowered his wall to see his sister still rubbing her eyes. “We have to hurry before the grand opening begins.” 

“Yea, uh, yea I’m fine. Fuck, I think you spit in my eye, Kank.” She punched him in his arm, knocking him off balance for a few moments. “Don’t do that again.”

“You’re overreacting. I barely breathed on your forehead. I’m sure your pigtails got most of it.” 

“Anyway, Gaara continue. We are on a time limit.” Temari straightened herself. “Did you notice this new gate?”

“Huh, yea. I did notice it when I got back but I didn’t think much of it. Are we creating a new entrance to Suna?” Kankuro tilted his head up to take in the sight of the new entrance. The gate was about the same size as the original one but with a curved arch at the top. This created a more shadowed walkway and directly center of the path was a booth. “Did we add a new attraction while I was gone? What are we becoming, a tourist nation?” 

Gaara shook his head, “Not exactly.” He pulled three tickets from his pocket and handed one to each of his siblings. “On a regular basis, you won’t need to purchase a ticket since you’re both on the same status as I am. You’ll get your clearance passes for free rides next week.” 

“Free rides? For what? Did you build some kind of ride, Gaara?” Kankuro followed his siblings through the gate, past the booth, and continued down the short pathway to the other side. 

“After the shinobi nations formed the alliance, the Kages have been in talk about finding a way to better connect our villages, which we hope will lead to stronger bonds being formed between people of all walks of life.” Gaara started to explain. “It’s been in works for a year but the official construction didn’t begin until the day after you left for your mission.” 

“It was finished pretty quickly too,” Temari said, standing next to Gaara. “Just in time for you to come back and be in awe. Luckily for you, we haven’t had the chance to experience it either.” 

“Okay...what the fuck are you both talking about? What are we doing?” Kankuro’s curiosity was now taking over. He wished his siblings would just come out and say it instead of beating around the bush.

“Just take a look.” Gaara gestured for his brother to look past the gate. 

Kankuro stepped out of the pathway in the direction his brother pointed. Barely two steps out of the shadows, Kankuro paused. His mouth dropped open before immediately curving into a joyful grin. His siblings watched as he tried to contain his excitement, like a kid trying to play it cool after receiving the greatest Christmas gift ever. 

“What do you think?” Temari asked, moving to stand beside Kankuro. She lifted her hand to her face to block the sun from her eyes. “Pretty cool, huh?”

“Are you fucking kidding me? This-- Holy fuck!” In front of the siblings, about 20 feet away from the gate, was a train. Trains weren’t entirely new, but it was rare to ride once since they were in very remote locations. 

After the shinobi alliance, the Kages wanted for their villages to be able to interact easier. Not just shinobi, regular civilians too! Their solution? A train that connected all of the main villages with a few extra stops along the way. 

“Suna is the first village to install their railroads. Although the other villages are finishing up just as quickly, our ride will be pretty short. Just a quick trip along the coast and back again.” Gaara said. He started walking towards the train where another shinobi met him. 

“Kazekage-Sama! You made it! We’ve been waiting for you.” The shinobi greeted them all with a bow of his head. 

“Sorry, we took so long. Thank you for waiting.” Gaara said. 

“We would never leave without you, Lord Kazekage.” The shinobi straightened him. “I see you have your tickets! Although, you do not need them. You and your siblings are more than welcome to take rides for free.”

“This is just a formality. Though I do prefer to lead by example. Every civilian, shinobi or not, will need some form of ticket to board the trains. Kage are not exempt from the rules.” Gaara turned his head at the sound of laughing. Kankuro was shaking his head. 

“You’re too much sometimes, Gaara. Always trying to be the best person you can be.” Kankuro stepped next to him, holding out his ticket as well.

Gaara shrugged. “There is nothing wrong with following the rules. That is what good leaders do. It’s what good people do.” 

“Okay, We don’t have time for a moral lesson, you two! Get on the train! Let’s take a ride!” Temari handed over her ticket as well, pushing her brothers past the shinobi and into the first car. 

The inside of the car was fairly big. Along the sides were rows after rows of seats. About 20 reaching all the way back. Each set of seats had a table between them which gave the space a more leisurely vibe. The floors were carpeted and the sides had nice wallpapered panels. Each table was accompanied by a large window, reaching at least halfway up the walls. 

Kankuro ran to a seat, scooting all the way to the window. “Whoa! This is great! When are we moving? Let’s go!” 

“Calm down, cat breath.” Temari laughed at her brother’s excitement. It was hilarious and almost cute. She remembered when they were younger, Kankuro would turn into a ball of energy whenever something he thought was amazing happened. The look on his face when he got his first puppet was pretty similar to the look on his face now. 

“The train should be taking off in a moment,” Gaara said, taking a seat across from his siblings. “Just be patient for another 60 seconds.” 

“Can I take a look in the control room? Can we walk through the cars? What about the back? Can we go back there?” Kankuro shot out his questions with barely a breath between them. The train hadn’t even moved yet and Kankuro was already planning for afterward.

“We can do all of that and more after the train starts moving.” Just a few seconds after Gaara spoke, the train gave a low whistling sound indicating its time for departure. 

“Yes. YES!” Kankuro screamed. “LET'S GO!” 

Within seconds, the train began the move. The scenery outside moved slowly at first, then it picked up speed. 

“Where are we going?” Kankuro asked. 

“Along the coast. We don’t have a destination yet since the other villages are still finishing their stations up, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a nice view.” Temari said. She leaned forward in her seat, pressing against the table to peer past her brother. 

“When we designed the railroad, we were wondering what features of Suna we should show off. Of course, the train does circle around the outside of the village but we decided to extend it to the beach as well.” Gaara leaned back against his seat, watching the desert pass by. 

“The train goes on the beach?” Kankuro asked, his eyes still glued to the window, seeing sand dunes he’s seen a million times zoom by. 

“Not directly but pretty close. Enough to see the actual water from a safe distance.” Temari said. She rested her head against the table, her arms crossed under her head. “This is relaxing. It definitely makes traveling less stressful.” 

“Accessibility is our biggest concern right now. We want everyone to be able to interact with their neighbors. Running long distances is fine for those trained to do so but that shouldn’t be a deciding factor for who gets to travel and who can not.” Gaara rested on his elbows. “Bonds shouldn’t have transportation limits.” 

The ride was short, no more than 20 minutes. It circled around the walls of Suna. On one side, there wasn’t much to see but thick walls of sand. The other side moved quickly across the expanse of dunes as far as the eye could see. Soon the dunes descended and the water came into view. Glitter danced across the top as the morning sun continued to rise in the sky. 

“Wow.” The siblings said in unison. They’ve seen this view a million times. Together. Individually. It was a view you couldn’t forget. 

A view that would never get old. 

“Are you ready to go to the control room, Kankuro? We’re almost at the turn around point.” Gaara said, standing from his seat to lead his siblings across the cars. 

“Just a moment.” Kankuro didn’t take his eyes off the ocean. 

“You’ll get to ride it again a bunch of times yknow,” Temari said, ready to follow Gaara. 

“I know…” Kankuro stood as well. “But when will we get to see it again like this together?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and don't forget to like/leave kudos/comment/review/share! 
> 
> And feel free to leave me comments and messages at my tumblr: badwigbrando.tumblr.com!!


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